Caray, Caray!

Helleshelle, a great recap! I was so glad Orly didn't weaken with Isela.

Ann-NYC

 

Great work, Hellashelle!

"Infesting"? Does that mean he's moving in or that he's going to let roaches and other vermin loose? Oh, wait; he is vermin.

Isela is playing both sides of the street, but that will end in a squeeze play with her in the middle. None of that will end well for her. Can we can hope that Orlando finally has her number? Once Max's situation is resolved Claudio should have a second or two to wonder whether learning the truth about her sister is the ultimate motive for Isela's presence in his life, but he's going to have other hell to pay even if he doesn't know the entire truth about Hector.

Based on the last few episodes I think we can expect a lot of whiplash for the second half of this series.

 

Hellashelle- Wonderful recap! I was so sad and frustrated with Dan's continued success thing MD's and her loved ones' lives. And then, boom, we get that fantastic ending with Claudio. I really hope he heard it all. Tonight's episode looks like it's not to be missed.

Jacinto and Baldy are worse than vermin. I'm so glad Josefa overheard them gloating.

Has Ivana finally gotten Dan out of her system and come to her sense? Has Orly finally gotten Isela out of his system and come to his senses? I really hope so...But there are so many episodes left.

Doris crying under her giant Ari bear was hilarious. She was adorable, and judging by his smile after she left, I think Orly agrees.
 

Tablet typo: Ruining, not thing.
 

As always Hellashelle you cleared up things I thought I heard and flat didn't hear so thank you.

"she’s fair (what?!), generous (that's questionable), intelligent (eh…), fun (if he says so), and a dedicated businesswoman (ok, I’ll give him that one)"

Loved we saw Doris crying under the bear, they didn't have to include that but did and it is so Doris. These characters are real people not cardboard TN cutouts.

Sorry I forgot who said it but when these characters do something it just fits, even if it is typical TN fare. Claudio willing to let Max suffer the consequences of his actions but soon as it crosses the line puts his personal distaste for MD aside. This, the same man ready to put his wife on medication so he can get at Isela in the next room.

 

Morning amigos! Man, this TN just keeps moving! (by which I mean "not dragging")

UA - hehe, yes, I couldn't resist. We might play with Fermin/Vermin, but Jacinto is one of the really puke-worthy cockroaches.

I agree, Isela's doing herself in. Some people might forgive her because of Josefa's influence, but I think she lost Orlando when she cried rape again in front of him at the Bustamantes five seconds after almost climbing him like a gym class rope.

Vivi - Ugh! Yes! Isela worming her way further into Alma's heart, Dan getting away with his plots (and even turning Jacinto's slam to his advantage! AUGH!!!) It's so frustrating! Thankfully, Ivana seems to have come to her senses too and I'm all for it. It was way more low key than I thought; no solitary moment of weeping in her darkened office or anything. I think MD calling her out for rehiring Jacinto, then clearing up the baby scheme foolishness and then calling her out at the station while she was confronting the arson charges finally, finally penetrated her thick skull. I'm kind of surprised Gerry's still as cold as he is given that they've now pretty much exonerated her from the accusations they threw at her in the past, but I guess the bad taste is still lingering.

Tofie - That might have been me talking about the great characterizations on this TN, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. Claudio's sense of right and wrong seems pretty solid, except for Isela. Her presence in his life has definitely blow a hole in his sense of justice and it's increasingly eating away at his morals on multiple fronts: restraining orders against innocent men, medicating his wife. He'll probably let Mal get away with cheating on his son - AUGH! He might compromise MD's case for the same reason! Ooh that slime!! If he does that, he will be on a whole new level of low in my book!
 

I will say I'm a little worried that Ivana's return from the dark side will get derailed if MD really does turn out to be pregnant. I can easily see her ranting that MD lied to her and refusing to believe Dan raped her.

Which makes me mad all over again that Isela cried rape! It just makes it harder for actual victims to be taken seriously when people do that! UGH!!!
 

Which continues the vicious cycle of victims not coming forward because they fear not being believed or treated with respect.
 

Yep, good Ivana last as long as MD is not pregnant.

Can't stand the girl but Isela is doing a bang up job of keeping me totally confused. She lies and tells the truth to everyone, she has an attack face, pitiful face, seductive face and never know what she's really thinking
 

UA - Sad, but so true.

Tofie - I think MD would have to save Gerry's life for Ivana to get over her jealousy and "forgive" MD.

Yeah, Fabiola Guajardo (Isela) plays her part so well, I honestly believe that Isela doesn't even know what she wants or what her motivations are. She's definitely fully working the complexities of her character.
 

It will be interesting to see if/how Isela changes when SHE knows all the facts about what happened to her sister, and the facts about her own parentage. Hopefully, by getting clarity on what happened in the past, why Josefa hatched this revenge plan, and why she has treated Isela like crap all these years, Isela will have some clarity about what SHE wants and her own motivations.

It was a sad moment when Alma said of course she's worried sick for Max, just as Josefa would be for Isela under the same circumstances. The look that flickered across Isela's face showed that she knows Josefa wouldn't give a flying flip if she were in trouble.
 

One minute Isela is telling Adrian to keep quiet about Alma's visit with Max as part of her larger manipulation of him and immediately tells Claudio where they were. Whew.

Have to say it was a total surprise when Jacinto, Baldomero and goons broke in, emptied the contents and changed the locks. Never occurred to me that was Dan's instruction. Does Dan really believe MD wants him and just needs a little persuading or jealous of Max or a vindictive prick or as evidenced by his treatment of her early on, a sadist?
 

What was it that Orlando said last night? There is no worse blind person than the one who refuses to see? Ivana wants to believe the worst in people & she wants to see things that are not there. That's because she doesn't want to take responsibility for her part in this mess.

She is beginning to, bit by by. Hopefully if she stays away from the Santibanez's she can begin to see clearly.
 

Anon207 - Yes, your translation is spot on.("No hay peor ciego que el que no quiere ver.")

Yes, it will be interesting to see what Isela does. Her's is the more complex and layered situation, but I'm a simple person so the truth bomb I'm chomping at the bit for is the one that's going to fall on Alma (and Claudio). I am so ready to see those two eat crow for their treatment of MD.

I think it's because that will be so clearly satisfying while I think Isela's will be sad. I woudln't a bad person when this TN started (then again, I wouldn't have called Claudio a bad person either). She's already so confused about things, when she find out her mother's not even her mother and she's lost Orlando, she's really going to be lost.
 

Tofie - this is the thing that often baffles me in TNs: when the villain ruins your life, do they think that your coming back to them out of obligation/blackmail/etc will be satisfying to either party?
 

Tofie- Actually Isela was telling Adrian to keep quiet about her digging into the files (and help her), and she would keep quiet about about him helping Max.

It was Alma's confidence she betrayed by telling Claudio they went to the jail to see Max. She didn't mention Adrian's presence there to Claudio.
 

I guess that is somewhat my point. In so many TN's forcing someone to remain in a relationship or back into one is to rustle our jimmies. Here too there is that constant threat, it rustles my jimmies, but Daniel is not like anything I've seen. He's a child in an adults body throwing non stop tantrums to get a toy back he broke and tossed aside.
 

Dan is crazy if he thinks there is anything that could possibly send MD back to his arms. Perhaps, if he were holding a gun to the head of her mother or sister. And even then, it would only be for as long as there was an immediate threat to their lives. But the threat of Max being left in jail or her family losing their home, though painful, is not going to do it.
 

Oh, my, my. Before I even read the recap and the comments, I have to say--when Claudio burst into that room, I actually cheered and did a hi-five (I couldn't believe myself for doing that). If you had put a red suit on him with a cape and a big S on the chest, he couldn't have made a better entrance!
 

We'll see how long that lasts.

Daniel is crazy like a fox. He really knows how to think on his feet, so to speak. The big However is that eventually someone will keep a list of his sins, like I'm doing for the Karmageddon discussion.

Ivana needs to know all this. She is divorcing him and while she isn't his only victim this will tell her what she could have expected from him in the future. She will have to worry about keeping this away from the press because of what that could do to her business.
 

Anita - I"m with you! I think that was the first time I've ever been happy to see Claudio!

UA - It's so annoying that Dan stupid plan worked. The fact that Claudio could be the one to save MD makes it even more annoying.

Man, this TN is so...different! Sometimes are villains save the day (Josefa's already been the key saving grace more than once) and sometimes the good guys are a pain in the butt (like Hono for the longest while).

I really struggled with this TN when it started and when it's gone to intensely dark places, but I think I'm going to have serious withdrawal when it's is over.
 

Hosefa is only playing good as an investment against something really horrible later on, something to either totally humiliate MD or to frame her for. The only question is how long we will have to wait for that. This second I'm predicting 5 episodes.

I wish we had a better sense of the passage of time in the story. We could determine when there was enough time for MD to be pregnant.
 

Hellashelle--You kept me on the edge of my seat with your recap. You are a great storyteller, not to mention your insight into characters and their behaviors. Wonderful, just wonderful.

I want to believe Orly is beginning to divest himself of Isela. After crying rape in the Bustamante foyer, she's liable to do anything to him, for him or against him. He should think about that. What stands between Orly and Doris beginning a meaningful relationship is Ari and Isela's shadow.

Meanwhile, Isela's motivation is unclear. By crying rape, what did she accomplish? The sudden collapse of the violent confrontation between Claudio and Orlando? Well, sort of. But she also made it convenient for Claudio to call the police and put Orly on the run. If they had (or might yet) caught him, he goes to jail on a serious charge. Is that LOVE?

Agree that this only makes investigation and prosecution of rape in real life a very iffy prospect for innocent aggressors and guilty accusers.
 

What a wonderful recap Hellashelle. So clear and exact, I love it.

I'm with you all, I loved Doris crying behind that huge bear. But it was actually Orlando who got it for Isela, and she broke up with him right then, so he gave it to Ari, who gave it to Doris. I'm hoping that Orlando is warming up to the idea of a relationship with Doris.

No one mentioned what happened to Hector. If the doctor's theory is correct, then Mal did shoot him accidentally while she was trying to take the gun away from him. So if that theory is correct, Ursula didn't shoot him like I was thinking and hoping. But it was an accident, not on purpose, so I would think that would make Maleny feel a little bit better that she didn't kill him on purpose.

I think that Isela crying rape on Orlando is meant to keep him away from the Bustamontes, and to keep him from being believed by Claudio and Alma, if in case he does try to tell them what Isela is doing.



 

Cathyx- I think Claudio's theory about the struggle for the gun between Mal and Hector was always his theory. What Dr. Medina was hinting at was that Mal had nothing to do with it at all. Doesn't seem like Claudio is willing/ready to believe that yet (and believe he was duped by Ursula, who might be a murderer).
 

Vivi, I guess we don't then really know who thinks what. The way the conversation was left, the doctor seemed like he was going to tell Claudio what his theory was. And then they stopped the scene, and the next time we have Claudio telling Isela what happened. So it's hard to know if that was the doctor's theory we weren't privvy to, or Claudio never did hear what the theory was.
 

cathyx--You are probably correct about Isela's cry of rape, I agree with your theory. But what a way to keep him from getting the Bustamante's to believe a different story from hers. She threw him under a steam roller, not just a bus.
 

No Creo is so good with that, that sometimes I don't even notice unless I'm recapping. They drop one scene and move to something else that completely captures my attention and the next time I see the characters from the first scene, I'm too concerned with what they're doing right then to remember that they left me hanging before! (Hmm...sorry, that was more confusing than I intended. But you guys know what I mean.)

I agree that Claudio thinks it was an accident, but from the flashback, it was a very deliberate and carefully placed shot from an unknown killer. From the angle (and the look on his face), it wasn't Hector. From the drama, it wasn't Maleny. That leaves Arango, Ursula and the potential, mysterious #6.

Could it be Dan? And he's just blocked it out, aided by his Fit-It-All Mommy?
Was he just talking about Hector?
Or is it someone we've never met before?
 

I don't think Maleny killed Hector but Claudio does want Maleny to stop digging and threatening to disclose Isela and his relationship. If he convinces Isela Maleny did it and that is in everyone's best interest, including his, to stick to the suicide story, great.

Could a young Dan have killed Hector? I've always thought him a few years older than Maleny, do we know?
 

They're so good at not giving away secrets on this show that it could be almost anyone. It could be Arango, Ursul, Dan. It could be Ivana or her parents for all we know! Man! They are really good.

Oh, I forgot to give applause to Ivana for not running over to the hospital for her bruised and bloodied husband. I actually almost laughed when she told Jacinto where he was.
 

I doubt that it was Daniel because he would be even more messed up than he is. Not to mention that if Maleny witnessed it it would have taken quite a lot to silence her about it.
 

The idea that it could be Dan who is the 6th person is interesting. If they are twins, he may have been too young to remember it too. And then having Mom always insisting it was Maleny, then that could aid in him not remembering it.
 

The timeline is a little whacked on this scenario in any case. Mal actually looks plenty old enough to remember what happened - she's like 8 or 9 in the flashback. Dan is either the same age or older. I can buy that one of the doesn't really remember, but both?

Hmm, on the other hand, if Arango and Ursula dedicated themselves to telling them both that Mal did it, maybe it's not so far fetched?...

I must admit, I totally thought MD was going to the jail to talk to Max who was going to say "no sweat. Move into my apartment. Once I get out, I get fix everything."
 

Hellashelle- Well, at this point, with the more serious injuries, "when I get out" could be in 8 years, so I think she knew she needed to go to the source of these troubles, Dan.
 

Max's currently empty apartment--of course! Sadly, they won't go there because it makes too much sense, and the plot needs them to be at Casa Heffa so she can report to her handlers.
 

Isn't Leo still living there?
 

Thank you for the fantastic recap Hellashelle!

I also was happy to see Claudio come in at the end. He is complicated but he is not evil, he won't let his son get unfairly jailed because of Daniel. It's funny, for a guy with that many shades of grey he keeps judging everything black and white.

Jarocha
 

Jarocha- Yep. That's Claudio!

Yes. Leo lives in Max's apartment. This all just happened, and no one has even told Espie WHY Max is in prison. Clara and Leo haven't come home from school yet and don't know about the eviction. Max doesn't know either and is dealing with being sent straight to prison. I think a few more conversations and revelations would have to be made before Max's apartment gets put on the table as an option for MD's family.
 

Well said Jarocha. In some ways he's very principled, and in others, not so much. I think he used to be very principled in his personal life, but his little Claudio took over.
 

I was thinking that if Esperanza's heart could take coming home and seeing all her worldly possessions on the ground outside, then it could probably take the news that MD was raped by Dan.
 

I completely forgot about Leo, but I assume that he would have to go home, since Max is no longer available to be responsible for him. Even if the apartment is offered, they will stay at Hosie's for the sake of the plot.
 

Hellashell, thank you for a blockbuster recap
Last minute victories are fun right? They have you sitting on the edge of your seat and then "BAM" yaaaaaaah we win, or they win.
The santabanez family make no sence at all.
O well more insanity tonite. Glad that orlando
Finally got a clue. Im looking forward to alma
Havin a lightbulb moment, new years and the
4th of july all rolled into one.